River of Crows by N.P. Thompson

SPFBO10

A cryptic prophecy. A dangerous quest. An explosive family secret. And a crow with a white feather who is more than he appears... Mortal peril is twelve-year-old Ty Baxter's new normal when he teams up with the weird girl from school to help an injured bird and suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange, magical world. Now the target of a brutal tyrant with unfathomable power, Ty grapples with a life-altering revelation about his past and the implications of an ancient prophecy. As he struggles to control his own emerging magical Talent, Ty embroils himself in a desperate gamble to help his new friends save their missing family before the emperor uses his dark sorcery to transform them into birds, enslaving them forever as soldiers in his enchanted avian army. And if he survives all of that, he's probably still going to get grounded—if he ever finds a way to get back home.

Young Adult • Children’s Fiction/Science Fiction and Fantasy • Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery • Diversity Representation/BIPOC • Fantasy/Contemporary • Fantasy/Portal

Content Warning: children in danger, death/murder/torture (not gory - uses magic), mention of death of parent, violence (magic battle)